The computer cursor is manipulated by the mouse to move on the computer display in 2D and/or 3D using the Cartesian coordinate system. In the last few years, new versions of Windows systems, Web-based applications, and desktop software have dramatically changed to integrate the use of 2D and 3D together. Microsoft Windows 8, Internet world mapping such as Google Earth, and CAD/CAM/CAE software are examples of such applications, where the traditional computer cursor and input method which utilize the Cartesian coordinate system are no longer suitable for such new applications as they used to be before.
For example, the traditional computer cursor has no accurate, logical control of the exact angle or distance of movement in 2D; it is always moved in multiple, discrete steps until it reaches its target on the computer display, and with 3D applications, the user loses the sense of orientation and can only see a deceiving projection of the cursor's position on the 3D virtual environment. The traditional computer input method utilizes the Cartesian coordinate system to move the cursor on the computer display, and also to provide positional information by the mouse's movement to the computer system, where this input method has many disadvantages when used with the 3D applications. For example, it is hard to accurately move an object on the computer display in 3D if the movement is not parallel to the x, y, and z-axis, and it is difficult to navigate on the computer display to a point that is not defined with x, y, and z coordinates.